Quote:(IZQUIERDA reporter Lawrence Paul)- Selection.  You are at the top of your genre here in Kalistan at the moment.  Why a tour, right now of the Confederation?

S(election):  Now is a great time to head north.  They're just finishing up the Treaty [the Anantanese Ocean Pact], and its a great time.  Yeah, we're going to have a blast and it is so nice, you know, to see some folks up there, starting their scene back up again.  We're going up in support of the scene, because, you know, its all about the love.  We gotta give back.

LP:  Can you talk a bit about the bands who are on the tour?

S:  Right,  right...  You know Kalibeat will be on the tour, and who else.  Oh.  Dub Specialist.  Eh...  Dubstlyee will be up there.  They're the Bomb..  who else...  Howie Dreft and the Trutones. The Sulari Steady Seven.  The Imaginations.  We got...  man, can you believe this?  We got Bob Nation Maxwell and his band.  Oh man, we got everyone.  We have the new guy Montarget,  That's one Heavy Hitter.  And we got the Mad Brains, who are usually a hardcore band, but they are going up with a full reggae set...  Man...  its going to be a boss tour.

LP:  How many dates does the tour have nailed down?

S:  Right.  So...  what we are going to do is we are going to be playing like all over the country, but the thing is, we are all going to open up for the bands in the Commonwealth.  Since we're supporting their shows, we ain't taking any money for it.  But see, we live pretty fat already down here, its like, you know, for the good.  So, here's how we asked the promoters to set it all up.  We're going to open these shows in venues all across the Commonwealth, but there will be like two of our bands and two of their bands per show.  And we'll open for them, and that way, we'll play a lot but also have a lot of time off so we don't burn out or nothing.  You know.  That way, we can really do a number and put in work in support of the scene.

LP:  And ODEN is helping to sponsor the tour.

S:  Yeah, ODEN.    ODEN in Vrassa is covering plane fare, ODEN in Ananto is covering hotels, ODEN in Suldanor is covering supplies and everything.  Yeah, so we're also kind of good will ambassadors to the Herb Hosians up there.  Should be pretty cool...

LP:  You are aware, of course that the Worker Party sponsored "Freedom Bill" will likely fail.  Marijuana will still be illegal in Kizenia when you all get there.

S:  Yeah.  But man, that's a bummer for the folks there.  Maybe if more people get into the music, maybe their minds will change.  But anyway, this is more about the music than the herbs anyway.  For us anyway.

LP:  Will there be any of the National Product available at the shows?

S:  Yeah, we're totally going to follow the law.  Yeah...  totally follow the law.  So I suppose the only thing we'll have is what our Comrades bring in...  Maybe Mary will make an appearance on stage...  Who knows...  But it would be righteous.  You can bet the Kalistanis anyway won't be shy about promoting it.  I mean...  hell man, you know ODEN gets their weed in there anyway...  But I mean-  we're just talking about it anyway.  We'll just put it down like this.  Like, how can you have a good show without some, ahem,  herbal enhancements?  I don't think I have ever played sober, so playing in a prohibited nation will be a new one for me.

LP:  Are you sober now?

S:  (laughs)  As a Kalistani Judge! 

LP:  Me too...  As a Judge.

S:  Little Bit?

LP:  Little bit.  Anyway... I hope you will give us a full review of the tour when you get back.

S:  Sweetie, I will talk with you anytime.  But you know, you can come up with us if you want.

LP:  My editors won't let me go.

S:  Well, I won't lose your number, Daddyo...  Cool?

LP:  Cool.

Quote:"The Standing Forces of Kalistan, supported by the Revolutionary Socialist Militia of Kalistan, will be conducting land and naval drills beginning in June and lasting through December of this Year.  These drills are routine maneuvers, and will not approach the borders with our neighbors.  All drills will occur in Odufaray District and in the Odufart Sea between Odufray and Ananto.  These drills will focus on coordination between regular and irregular military maneuver and techniques.  The militia will handle all indirect fire on land, while the Regular forces will focus on mechanized cav and maneuver.  At sea, Militia forces will focus on fastboat pack techniques, while the Regular Navy will focus primarily on air supremacy over the Sea.

"As per our treaty agreements, Kalistan invites Baltusia and New Endralon to send contingents and observers to our war games.  If a contingent is sent, we ask them to ensure that they coordinate with the Defense Ministry to ensure that the contingent can fit in with the overall strategic aims of the drills.  All observers will be welcomed."

Quote:"I imagine he would be, but if it were me, I would let it roll off my back.  I know what Kalistan is capable of, and I know we are at peace with their country.  They sent us a unit who is really showcasing some ingenuity and flexibility here on the field.  I think we are much stronger together.  But, we have satisfied our obligations in informing the Government, and their Defense Minister was thrilled to be a part of the drills.  So at the end of the day, naval drills in the Anantanese Ocean really shouldn't be of that great a concern to the Justice Minister.  I don't think this little spat will do much to dampen the new relations we have with our neighbor to the north, and it is more likely that New Endralon will realize the benefits of having a highly trained and capable navy watching over the sea, should nations further to the South of us ever decide that they need to restore some of their old influence in Keris and Northern Dovani."

Quote:"We now have more acres under cultivation across Kalistan than we have had in 50 years.  When ODEN II hit, and much of the process was privatized, ODEN's share of the production fell through the floor as Private distributors rushed to take advantage of liberalization.  But it soon became apparent that the one advantage we had was quality.  We could always outcompete the private distributors on quality, and so now, after rebuilding over the last half century, ODEN production is back and we are stronger than ever."

Quote:"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.  We greet you today.

"The Freedom Front were a dastardly rightist Political Organization, however they wanted to portray themselves.  Under normal circumstances, they and the Socialist and Labour Caucus of Left Kalistan would see eye to eye on very little.  But political ideology aside, what we here in Kalistan are now seeing is a witch hunt.  These charges of drug smuggling are framed in a way designed to provide the maximum penalty for Attila.  And for what?  For selling a weed?  Is there proof?

"We in Kalistan know that it is not just a weed.  This is a cash crop which Attila is accused, unjustly, of smuggling and selling illegally.  We ask the Commonwealth Government then:  Did you see this marijuana?  Did it contain an ODEN stamp?  If so, let's be clear, Kalistan has an interest in that.  We cannot deny that we sell our national product across the face of Terra.  Whether it arrives legally or illicitly, we merely supply the products to sellers.  So I ask-  if it is ODEN marijuana, which is very possible, how can the government possibly be sure as to whether Attila came upon the plants in contravention to laws of the Commonwealth?  Is it at least possible that it was ODEN who originally supplied these crops, legally, in Kalistan, or in Dolgaria, where its use and sale is legal and regulated?  Can you be sure that it was even Attila who purchased the plants?

"The witch hunt that organizations such as the Hosian Democratic Union are on, looking for any trace of a sliver of evidence that Attila is a criminal, have not even been completed before the HDU has moved to strip Mr. Attila of his parliamentary privilege, (in contravention to the Law, as far as we can tell, so much so that they need to make a special exception to the law to prosecute him specifically) his rights as a person, and without any conclusion by a duly appointed legal authority that Mr. Attila has broken the law.  Any proceedings going forward are tainted with the stench of impropriety and failure to adhere to correct procedures which are the basis of procedural justice.  In a word, the persecution of Mr. Atilla are problematic, from root to tip. 

"And I can say one more thing:  Kalistan will be launching an official protest to the Government of New Endralon/Kizenia over this affair.  Do we have Standing?  You bet-  We are interested in the cause of liberty and human decency, and this persecution of one man for doing something which, if it is against the law, stands as a violation of an unjust law and therefore serves as civil disobedience, should not be countenanced by a free government.  We urge the Government of New Endralon and Kizenia to refrain from the prosecution of Mr. Attila and furthermore, make him whole by either completely restoring the property that the Government no doubt stole from him in their immoral raid, or by compensating him for the property if it is too damaged to restore. And finally, We ask that Mr Attila be put at complete liberty and all of these witch trials be ended.

"Kalistan will not rest until justice is done."

Quote:"Well, ODEN has been around for more than 1600 years.  Its no secret that we sell drugs.  I'm not sure why Petrescu acts shocked to "learn" this."  The Premier acknowledges that drug possession and consumption is illegal in the Commonwealth, "...but as the Justice Minister very well knows, ODEN-Kalistan only sells directly to individuals within Kalistan.  Internationally, our buyers are wholesale distributors.  Those are the people who ultimately sell to clients in New Endralon/Kizenia-  you not find a single ODEN store outside of ODEN countries. 

"The government should be more concerned about the demand side of this equation than the supply side.  If Kizenians stopped buying drugs from Kalistan, it would not hurt our bottom line that much, but if concern for drug importation is really what is driving these harsh reactions from the HDU, then I do not understand how sanctioning Kalistan will put a damper on drug importation.  Users will get their drugs from somewhere.  If not from ODEN, then from the people in other countries who buy it from ODEN and then smuggle it into the Commonwealth.  The difference is, when it comes from ODEN, we can vouch for its purity and chemical content.  When it goes through the black market, we can't.  The users are going to get it one way or another, and so the Government should be focusing on them."

Quote:"You know, its because Jose [Magelleno, Director of ODEN-Kalistan] spoke out on [Former Freedom Front Leader Csatar] Attila.  They didn't care about ODEN until Magelleno spoke out on behalf of the guy who they unjustly arrested and are stripping of his parliamentary immunity so they can prosecute him.  Once we express an opinion on their domestic affairs, we're slapped with this tariff by this extremely regressive Party of religious fanatics [referring to the HDU]."

Quote:"No, our beef is with this Petrescu fellow, not with the people or the government of New Endralon/Kizenia.  If they pass their bill, our law requires us to immediately impose the same terms upon them.  Essentially, everything we import from New Endralon, and the net value is fairly substantial following the Anantanese Ocean Pact, becomes instantly 20% more expensive.  If they impound our ships and our cargo, we issue letters of marque and impound their ships.  In other words, and this is a fact that I hope reaches Petrescu and his buddies: we give them exactly the same deal that they give us.  It requires no special legislation on our part-  we have already passed the law to that end.  Retaliation goes into effect the day their bill passes, and that is something I am sure neither state really wants.

"And our opposition to this business about their arrest of Party Leader Atilla doesn't get resolved one way or another.  Because Magelleno likes to talk."

Quote: "We are saddened, but not surprised.  The Government of New Endralon and Kizenia have been bent on provoking Kalistan at sea for more than a year now, and it has finally come to formal sanctions.  We will not take these provocations lightly.  I have asked Minister Bennots-Lee and Minister Freal at Interior and Trade respectively, to completely ignore the Blockade, and ignore any and all illegitimate demands to stop and submit to search by agents of the the New Endralonian Government.  If the imposition is forced, we will have no choice but to begin issuing Letters of Marque to private operators, and to Militia forces to protect Kalistani Shipping on the High Seas.  ODEN has assured me that they have no intention of stopping its exports from Kalistan."

Quote:"If they think they can pressure us, with sanctions, into changing our policies," Curti said to a crowd of 275 producers from Odufaray and Vrassa, "they are sadly mistaken.  Kalistan and the Commonwealth have a free trade treaty and we mean to enforce it.  But we also mean to protect our own exports from unfair sanctions which aim at hobbling our economy.  If they wish to put sanctions on us, of course we must respond.  It is our hope that they will relieve the sanctions soon, but we will not back down from our freedom to sell what we can to whoever wishes to buy them, and as we said-  supply side trade policies do nothing to stem demand.  This is where the Government of New Endralon should focus its efforts instead of punishing its ally."